Thermal image processing for quantitative determination of temperature variations in plantar angiosomes

Thermal image analysis has been extended to a wide variety of application in the medicine field. Thermography and image processing are useful tools because they facilitate a noninvasive and fast diagnostic. In the study of the diabetic foot, it is important the early detection of ulceration risks. Such detection becomes difficult, due to the lack of symptoms in the early phase. A late detection may lead to an extremity amputation. In the literature it has been established a relation between temperature and ulceration regions and, in recent works, some qualitative solutions for risk ulceration diagnostic based on a thermal analysis of the plantar foot have been proposed. In this work, an analysis and quantitative comparison of the temperature between the feet by using the concept of angiosome on diabetic patients is proposed. The goal of this study is to provide useful information in the early foot ulcers detection in patients with diabetic neuropathy.